Issue 19 : Evolving the Future

This issue of Psychology Tomorrow Magazine, our 19th, inaugurates a revolutionary new design that combines traditional reporting and writing with audio, and video media that goes beyond how storytelling has traditionally been presented. You can flip through its pages, listen to a meditation or watch a video discussion or lecture.

Enjoy the experience!

EVOLVING THE FUTURE: THE NEW CONSCIOUSNESS

The future of psychology does not lie in more precise explanations of how the mind, brain, or other biological systems perform, but instead its radicalization based on a New Consciousness — a synergistic philosophy that honors individuality and innovation, respects the fusion of mind, body and spirit, values positive thinking and meaningful action, and privileges ideals like purpose, faith, and self-determination.

This New Consciousness requires practitioners to throw away the DSM (the psychiatric bible) and rid themselves of much of what they learned in the academy, eradicating such concepts as , “mental illness,” or “pathology” from the professional lexicon. They must clear their minds of all preconceptions of “normal” and imagine, with clients, a future of limitless possibilities in order to help take them full creative possession of their well-being.

From this perspective, “problems” or “symptoms” are not considered medical issues shaped by biology alone. Nor are they solely the result of external circumstances or past conflicts inherited from families of origin. Rather, they are choices made for solving life’s complex dilemma that may have unwanted consequences.

The contributors to this issue of Psychology Tomorrow Magazine are blessed with the imagination and courage to practice outside of those conventions that have led the field of psychology into a dark abyss over the last few decades. In place of the current philosophy of “scientism,” that has encouraged the overuse of diagnosis and medication, these scholars, writers and practitioners are evolving new technologies and maps for facilitating change that enable clients to understand and attain what they want in life. By harnessing the mysterious and enigmatic nature of the mind and bringing it into alignment with body and spirit, we can source the unlimited possibilities for our lives.

On the philosophical level, the theologian, Nick Astraeus sets the tone for this issues practitioners in his essay You Are the Macrocosm when he speaks about the concept of consciousness. “From an objective view, there are myriad conscious beings inhabiting the universe. But from a subjective view, there is only your one consciousness. From a subjective view, all other beings are features, or sense data, of your one consciousness. Indeed, the universe itself is a feature of your one consciousness.”

Will Hall speaks to “Urban shamanism” an approach that advocates rediscovering the roots of tribal consciousness for modern people. “There are no rules and no end to learning and creativity, as we reawaken our indigenous minds and recreate spirit healing in new ways.”

Brian Shohet teaches surfing in a way that incorporates the concepts and principles that he learned in recovering from his own addiction to drugs. For Brian, creating an experience that demands the full engagement of mind/body/spirit consciousness in the present, empowers a client in such a way as to turn around their attitude towards life.

John Dupuy works with clients to identify and balance deficits in their four essential intelligences applying an integral/holistic approach that engages deep inquiry, meditation, exercise, education, and emotional reconditioning. His call is to all of us is, ‘wake up spiritually, grow up and clean up ethically and emotionally, and show up.”

When working with those in addiction recovery, the team At The Clearing, uses creative techniques in connection with silence to foster deeper expressions of the self. Among those found to be especially useful in healing are opposite hand-writing, creating mandala and affirmation beads.

In his application of Craniosacral therapy, Dominic Anaya, lays his hands on patients and tunes into biologic rhythms using them to release restrictions in the parts of the body that have trapped emotion in a process that rebalances the mind/body connection.

While most therapies address healing in our waking lives, Julie Langton-Smith, is interested in the helping clients attain well-being through the quality of sleep. Her sleep hypnosis process allows the subconscious part of the brain that runs the automatic function of the body organs — digestive system, heart rate, hormone control, circulation — to rest and regenerate the healthy functioning of these systems. Listen to her podcast included in this issue and be soothed by the lullaby. Please don’t listen while you’re driving!

In his book Decoding Your Kink, Galen Fous brings the long-neglected subject of sex into the mind/body/spirit conversation. Matt Dobb’s book review shines a light on Fous’s compelling thesis and his reason for advocating for a genuinely universal ethos in which we can all explore our unique sexuality along with our beliefs and feelings about it.Take the time to watch Fous’s video lecture in which he presents his thesis in detail. It may change your life.

Over the course of my practice, I have been interested in how the use stories in therapy can have a dramatic impact on clients lives. In my newest book, The Secrets of Ancient Parables, I present a collection of stories from different cultures and traditions that teach important lessons about living positively. I’ve included the first in a series of parables accompanied by guided meditation that, if followed, can help you to attain the lesson of the parable. Read it or listen to the podcast.

Rapid advances in technology are continually transforming. our lives at every level. Dr, Ehsan Gharadjedaghi and his team at TherapyCable.com are taking advantage of social media in its mission to reduce stigma around mental health. By using technology such as video, they are finding ways to encourage the younger generation to embrace mentally healthy strategies including therapy. Read and watch.

Alyssa Siegel examines how text, email, social media, and online dating not only shape our relationships but have become a vital part of the therapeutic process. Clients are bringing emails and texts into the therapy room for analysis, conducting close virtual relationships online that they man never experience in the physical world and provide access to like-minded people reducing the feeling of isolation or shame.

Thomas Oppong’s curiosity takes him into the near future in his exploration of the bright and terrifying world of Artificial Intelligence. Thomas gives us a thorough update on the state of the art of AI leaving us with these questions. ”Our machines are here to serve us but will they take over our lives? Will our robots out think us and even harm us?”

Perhaps Jeff Warren sums the concept of this issue best when he says,”I have a theory. Not a perfect theory, but a theory based on experience – based on my experience. And that’s exactly what my theory is about: that there’s a feedback loop between our ideas about reality, and our experience of reality. That the postmodernists are right: our own ideas confirm the world to us.”

Grounded in compassion and a history compelled to console and care for others, Galen Fous continues to deliver on his mission from The Sharp Edge of Love: “to raise sexuality to its rightful place alongside intellect, creativity, emotion and spirit, as a major, valid and integral aspects...Read More »

We can define and explore reality from either an objective or a subjective viewpoint.

Consider objective and subjective views of space and time. From an objective view, space contains an infinite number of different theres, and time contains an infinite number of different thens. But from a subjective view, space itself...Read More »

I think my perception about art has been influenced somewhat from education, but I have spent more time unlearning what I was taught. I believe my best work is created when I am not thinking about rules or lessons, or what an institution might perceive as good art. Rather, I...Read More »

Q) Within your works, the binary between organic and inorganic is present. How does this relationship operate vis-a-vis and within your understanding of society?

Nicolas: Recently, I have focused my research on notions of simulation, indexicality, and artificial intelligence. By molding and casting rocks, I create an indexical relationship between the...Read More »

Last week I was out in the water giving a surf lesson to a young man. He paddles his board back to me after a heavy wipeout. He’s clearly frustrated. “I keep falling off. Everyone else has stood up, except me.” And then the classic line, “I can’t do this.”...Read More »

I hate new age, woo-woo therapies. One of the biggest reasons for this hate is that I practice a new age, woo-woo therapy, maybe the wooiest. I am a craniosacral practitioner and while I feel that it is an incredibly powerful tool for change and healing, it is also consistently...Read More »

Spiritual practice is not for everyone, but sometimes survivors of psychosis have a calling to discover the truth in the world’s mystical traditions. This essay summarizes some of the lessons I’ve learned exploring altered states.

Shamans are the magician spirit healers in tribal, indigenous societies around the world. Anthropologists use the...Read More »